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February 10, 2010 at 2:48 PM
Not that I’m a Myth Buster, but there is one predominant myth about wine and food pairing that seems to confuse many who enjoy a nice wine with their meal; only drink red wine with red meat or sauces and white wine with fish, chicken and white sauces. Pork stands somewhere in between.
Actually, they should all stand somewhere in between. Think of wine as a seasoning or enhancement to your meal or dish. No one says you can only use salt with certain types of food or pepper with others. It all depends on your tastes, how much you use and how it affects the dish. Too much of anything can overwhelm the dish you are creating.
So, is it “chic” to drink white wine with red meat or red wine with white meat? Well, if you’re not a snob and enjoy white more than red or vice versa, sure it is. Really, the two major factors in pairing wine with food, in my mind, are the boldness and acidity levels of the wine in relation to the same in the food.
If you want to drink a red wine with your fish, pick one that will complement the fish. Salmon is a heavier meat and a bolder red can stand up to flavor. Tilapia will be a little whiter and flakier and a less bold red would be more appropriate. A heavier Pinot Noir or lighter Merlot might be more appropriate with Salmon. Tilapia can stand up to a lighter Pinot Noir nicely.
If you prefer white wine and are having meat, say a good New York steak or Fillet, a bolder Chardonnay (yeah, the more buttery type) would complement your meal. Pork and Chicken can be enjoyed with your favorite Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, or a less bold Chardonnay.
The guideline here to enhance you meal is bold with bold and soft with soft. Bold food with overpower the flavors of a soft wine and bold wine will do the same to softer food flavors.
Did you know that many people serve red wine too warm and white wine too cold. My personal guideline is to drink red a little below room temperature (say 60°) and white a little above refrigerator temp (say 50°). Champagne should be served colder than white (40°-45°) which means pretty much right out of the fridge. These are give or take a few degrees, so don’t panic on getting it exact. Try storing your reds in the basement or a cool place. If you don’t, refrigerate them for 1/2 hr or so before drinking. Take the white out of the fridge and let it sit for 1/2 hr or so. I think you’ll see the flavors more abundant and expressive.
I was out to dinner the other night and searched the wine list for a good accompaniment to what I anticipated to be an awesome sushi dinner. My target? A good, DRY Riesling. I asked the server about a particular selection. Particularly, if it was on the sweet side. She responded, without much pause, and said “Riesling’s are generally sweet”. NOT!! Now, I’ll subscribe to the notion that Cabernet’s are generally dry, but, as a wine/food server, she needed only a little wine training to know Riesling’s come in varying styles of dryness and sweetness. And, that’s important when pairing food and wine. Certainly, a sweet Riesling wouldn’t have been an enjoyable accompaniment to sushi for me. Kinda like eating fish with ketchup. I wanted something a little dry and acidic, and not too viscous to cut through the oils of the fish. Don’t get me wrong, I do like sweet Riesling’s and there are many good one’s out there, but would probably have it with dessert if drinking it with food.
Riesling’s (or any other wine for that matter) obtain their sweetness from the residual sugar in the wine. Residual sugar is just that, the amount of sugar remaining in the wine after fermentation. In the U.S., we generally measure it in %. Some countries measure it in grams. A dry wine generally has between .5% to 2% residual sugar. A sweet wine will generally be between 2% up to 6%. A dessert wine would be above 6%. Now, the acidity level in the wine can mask the sweetness. A wine with 2% residual sugar can appear dry on the palate if there are higher acids in the wine.
When wine ferments, the yeast in the wine eats the sugar and the by product is alcohol. So, when the fermentation process is arrested early, more residual sugar remains in the wine (sweeter wine) and results in a lower alcohol content wine. Conversely, when the fermentation process is allowed to continue, the result will be a wine with less residual sugar (dryer wine) and a higher alcohol content. We don’t want to confuse this process with what is used to make Port. Port is a very sweet wine, high in alcohol content. But, Port is fortified with a grape spirit known as Aguardente (and commonly called Brandy) to raise its alcohol content.
General flavor characteristics of Riesling: Honey-Grapefruit-Melon-Peach. Also, mineral (slate or limestone) tastes from the soils the vines grow in.
What to look for on the nose: Floral-Minerals.
I thought I’d shed some light on one of my favorite grape varieties many find mysterious, and for good reason. Carmenere (kar-ma-nair-uh) is often referred to as the lost Bordeaux varietal. It was mainly used in France as a blending grape, much like Malbec. Carmenere was wiped out in the late 19th century due to a Phylloxera epidemic which killed most of the vineyards in France. Phylloxera are little insects that feed off the vines.
Prior to the Phylloxera invasion, Chilean winery owners imported Carmenere vines and planted them in their vineyards. This is where the mystery of the grape begins. For almost a century, Carmenere was thought to be Merlot. It is very similar in appearance and Carmenere was thought to have died off with the other varieties in France. Carmenere was picked as Merlot and labeled as Merlot. It wasn’t until the early 1990’s, through DNA testing, that it was isolated as Carmenere.
In current times, Carmenere is almost indigenous to Chile. Very little can be found around the world, including France. Since realizing they had an abundance of Carmenere, Chilean wineries have been experimenting with the grape as it’s own varietal, as opposed to just using it as a blending grape. Carmenere takes much longer to ripen on the vine than Merlot, so when it was picked with Merlot, it wasn’t ripe enough to show its true qualities. Attempts in the 1990’s to produce it on its own many times resulted in a very “green” tasting wine with high acidity and a big smokey nose. There is a distinct “green pepper” vegetal quality to the taste and nose, and when picked early it is much more pronounced. Through experimentation, winemakers realized that Carmenere needed much more time on the vine to ripen. Now it is picked closer to when Cabernet is (and many times after), which is much later in the harvest than Merlot. After having learned how to handle the grape from vineyard to barrel aging to bottle, there are many stellar Carmenere’s coming out of Chile. It has a deep red color, softer tannins than Cabernet, but still can be a bold wine. It’s characteristics are spicy, earthy, green pepper, blackberry and coffee.
A few of my favorites are La Playa Block Selection Carmenere ($11) – Mont Gras Reserva Carmenere ($11) – Apaltagua Estate Carmenere ($9)
Carmenere Grapes Merlot Grapes
O.K. So, it’s time to start posting again after learning more about navigating the blogosphere. Been having much fun watching the Olympics and enjoying wine as an accompaniment to the games. My daughter asked me while watching what I thought the best thing about TV was while we were enjoying some figure skating. I told her the best thing for me was that it brings the world into our family room. The Olympics, news, culture shows, history shows, and the occasional Modern Family. That got me to thinking about wine, as I had a glass of a nice Chilean wine in my hand when her inquisitive question blurted out. The best thing about wine for me, other than the obvious, is it brings the world into our family room. Wine is produced on almost every Continent from so many regions and climates and we can get a taste of those far away places while enjoying whatever activities we are engaged in in our hometowns. So, here’s what I was enjoying:
Yali - Cabernet-Carmenere 2008 ($8) ♥♥♥ From the Vina Ventisquero (www.ventisquero.com). Yali is made from grapes grown in the Rapel Valley region of Chile. Rapel Valley is in the central growing region of Chile just south of Santiago and close to the pacific. This wine is a nice pairing of Cabernet and Carmenere (kar-ma-nair-uh). I’ll post some info on Carmenere in the Wine Education category. It’s a wonderfully bold grape when handled correctly by the winemaker with an interesting past and voyage. Don’t let the 2008 vintage scare you, as South America is a whole half year ahead of us in harvesting their vintages. Remember, it’s summer down there now and early harvest will begin soon (usually August for Napa). This wine was very drinkable with bold character (especially for the price). The Carmenere gives it a bold red color, nice hint of spice (think pepper), some hint of tobacco on the nose and a bit of a smokey note. The Cabernet imparts some nice, softer tannins (that somewhat astringent mouthfeel from a bold red), but still that boldness and hint of currant you expect from Cabernet. I enjoyed it enough that I decided to try the Sauvignon Blanc, which by all accounts didn’t disappoint. It had all the qualities I like in a Sauvignon Blanc, some grapefruit flavors (but not too much), citrus notes on the nose, good mineral characteristics (best described as the flavors the grape derives from the soil it’s grown in) and a crisp mouth-feel. Both very approachable wines that deliver beyond their price.
Want to celebrate President’s Day with the all the pomp and circumstance of the White House?
Iron Horse Russian Cuvee- (low $30’s) ♥♥♥♥♥ A beautifully elegant sparkling wine from Sonoma County, California. When President Regan hosted Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev for the historic Summit Meetings to end the cold war, he commissioned Iron Horse to produce a sparkling wine for the event. A blend (or cuvee) of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir was chosen. This sparkling wine was used to toast the end of the cold war. It’s been served at the White House during every Presidency since. A little sweeter than their normal wines, it would be great as a cocktail wine. Try it with potato chips, if you’ve never had it that way, you’re in for a real treat. A bit on the pricey side, but great for a special occasion.
The intent here is to share information on wine to educate novice to intermediate level wine enthusiasts. The whole point is to stress that understanding and enjoying wine should not be intimidating. You like White Zin? Good for you. Enjoy it and learn a little more about it and other wines. You like to drink Merlot with your fish? Have at it. It’s not a crime. We can be educated on what foods go best with White Zin or what type of Merlot will complement fish.
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Diego Murillo Merlot 2008 – Rio Negro Valley - Patagonia, Argentina. ($10) ♥♥♥ bodegahcanale.com
From one of the most southern wine growing valleys in the world with warm days and cool nights to help balance the acidity of the delicate Merlot grape. I happened upon this wine at one of my local favorite wine stores. There is not a large selection of wines from Patagonia, so I asked the wine manager if he had tried any. He directed me to this one and it was a pleasant surprise.
My wife made a ground pork dish with fresh mushrooms, red bell peppers, diced potatoes and various herbs and spices. The wine paired very well with the dish. Bold enough, but not overpowering on the palate.
